READ: Dad slams Vue Cinemas after cinema trip with his children costs £70!

Dean McQuade was furious after being charged £5.50 for nachos and a cheese dip when taking his children to Vue Cinemas

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by Francesca Battson |
Published on

Taking to Facebook, Dean McQuade shared his anger with the cinema chain of how much he spent when taking his two children to watch a film.

The 25 year old pointed out to Vue that someone of his age on minimum wage (which has recently changed) would have to work for 10 hours to afford a trip to their cinema with two children.

“I'm no penny pincher & after being at work all week, when it gets to the weekend I want to do something with my kids but come on Vue £5.50 for these, £5.50!!!” he wrote.

“There must be more than £5 profit in that! Put that with the ticket prices a drink & some sweets for them you're looking at £70. That means a man of 25 on national minimum wage has to graft 10hrs to take 2 kids to the cinema for 1.5hrs on his day off. Madness.”

Dean’s post has already received almost 10,000 likes at the time of writing, with over 700 shares and almost 600 comments.

One person commented: “I asked for a small Diet Coke and small popcorn the other night then got charged £9.90!!!!”

“Yes the prices all the cinemas charge these days is unreasonable. We are a family of 5 and it costs an absolute fortune for us all to go together!!!!” another added.

Vue Cinemas Facebook replied to the post saying: “It is a generally well-reported fact that the majority of the money taken at the box office goes to the film maker/distributor; therefore in order to make cinemas a viable business all cinemas charge premium prices for the food and drinks sold.

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Children eating popcorn at cinema ©Alamy

“The alternative is to charge a higher price for tickets which would restrict more people from enjoying the cinema. However, this said we do aim to provide value and you will find a variety of combos and special offers that do save you money.”

A lot of Facebook users also commented how the price compared to various other chains including Cineworld and Odeon. There was also many people to comment saying Dean should have taken his own food and drink into the cinema to save money.

Vue Cinemas also responded to Dean’s post by saying he is able to bring in his own food and drink: “Please note that you are able to bring your own food and drink into the cinema rather than purchasing from our confectionary stands. This is with the exception of hot food or alcohol. I am sorry for any distress caused and I hope this answers your query.”

However, some people weren’t aware that you were allowed to do this commenting: “I never thought you could take you're own food or drink. People take note!!”

One added that buying snacks at the cinema was part of the whole “experience”, saying: “Thing is if you take your own sweets then you take away that cinema experience”.

Do you take your own food and drinks to the cinema with you?

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